Why it works: Coffee and molasses work together. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 640 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓
★ Mince Filling
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the filling
Chop 3 pints of tart apples and 3 cups (1 lb.) of seeded raisins; combine with ½ cup lemon juice, 1 cup strong cereal coffee, 1½ cup dark molasses, 1‑2 teaspoons salt, and 2 teaspoons ground coriander seed.
Grind the raisins through a medium cutter, then the apples which have been pared, quartered, and cored.
Mix all the ingredients and heat to boiling.
Store and bake
Put the mixture into jars and seal, or keep in a cool place in a stone jar.
Add a little water if necessary when making pies and do not fill crusts too nearly full.
Make a lattice‑work top of strips of pastry sometimes, instead of a top crust.
Serve warm as a rule.
Use a little browned flour and water instead of the cereal coffee if desired.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 2 of 3 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Molasses | 1 tbsp (20g) | 58 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Coffee | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
-
Coffee + molassestop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together640 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
-
Coffee + lemontop 26% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together578 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Molasses + lemontop 36% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,377 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Tart apples (in the method)
- Provide the bulk and tart flavour that balances the sweet molasses and raisins.
- Raisins (in the method)
- Add concentrated sweetness and chewy body to the filling.
- Dark molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark colour and a deep, robust flavour.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and balances the sweetness.
- Strong cereal coffee
- Contributes liquid and a roasted, bitter note that deepens the flavour.
The step that matters
Heating the mixture to boiling. Bringing the filling to a full boil cooks the apples and thickens the liquid, which helps keep the mixture stable when stored in jars or baked in a pie.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (coffee, molasses):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Orangefits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against coffee, molasses. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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